It is known that air bags are used in vehicles to provide passenger safety in the event of an accident. It is further known that air bag attachment systems are used to secure the air bag to the vehicle structure. Typically, the known air bag attachment systems include fasteners that utilize metal inserts to provide the requisite high retention of the air bag to the vehicle structure. Some of the known designs incorporate a metal insert and utilize screws to attach the fastener to the vehicle structure. Drawbacks and disadvantages with such fasteners exist. For example, the employment of metal inserts and screws increase the tendency of the fastener components to buzz, squeak, and rattle while the vehicle is in use. Also, the design of the metal inserts may not be conducive to a visual inspection of the air bag fastener to ensure the complete and correct installation of the fastener.
The present invention addresses these and other drawbacks with known fasteners used with vehicle air bag systems by providing a unique plastic fastener assembly for use with the air bags that provides easy installation, advantageous locking features, and a large area of communication between the vehicle structure and the fastener.